Latest Michigan Headlines

All the headlines from our Michigan Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Western Mich. CPCU Chapter Sponsors Legal Workshop

Mar 10 2004 // The Western Michigan chapter of the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters Society (CPCU) is co-sponsoring a half-day workshop March 30 that is worth four continuing education credits in Michigan, three in...

Tort Reformers Look to Score in States after Washington Strikes Out

Mar 8 2004 // Last fall at a University of Virginia Law School forum on tort reform, some of the nation’s top tort experts agreed there were no easy answers on how to solve the nation’s longstanding love-hate relationship...

MICH. LAUNCHES AUTO RATE INQUIRY:

Mar 8 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters has launched the second phase of her investigation into rising home and auto rates in Michigan. Commissioner Watters issued a letter...

Insurance Institute of Mich. Launches Web Site

Mar 3 2004 // There’s a new site on the World Wide Web and it is loaded with timely insurance information for Michigan residents. Web surfers can find the new website recently unveiled by the Insurance Institute of Michigan (IIM)...

Michigan Still a Loss Ratio Laggard

Feb 23 2004 // The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2000 census estimated the Michigan’s population at almost 10 million. About 83 percent of the adult residents had graduated from high school and about 22 percent had earned a...

Mich. Bill Limiting SSN Use is ‘Fatally Flawed,’ Says PCI

Feb 20 2004 // A bill aimed at protecting consumers that passed last session by the Michigan Senate is “fatally flawed” and has the potential to disrupt core business functions in the state by guarding the use of Social...

Mich. Commissioner Launches Auto Rate Inquiry

Feb 16 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters has launched the second phase of her investigation into rising home and auto rates in Michigan. Commissioner Watters issued a letter...

Mich. Auto Rates Rise Slower Than National Average

Feb 12 2004 // Auto insurance rates for Michigan policyholders rose slower than the national average in 2003, according to the Insurance Institute of Michigan (IIM). Michigan’s auto insurance rates increased an average of 7 percent...

Mich. Insurers Respond to Homeowners Data Call

Jan 28 2004 // The more than 100 homeowners insurance carriers that operate in Michigan are already gathering rating information recently requested by the governor and the Michigan Office of Financial Insurance Services (OFIS)...

Michigan Needs to Open Up Insurance Scoring Process

Jan 26 2004 // An ever increasing number of insurance companies are using your personal credit information—like billing history, the number of credit cards you have, and even the number of credit checks made by businesses offering you...

Mich. Commissioner Begins Inquiry into Climbing Home Insurance Rates

Jan 21 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda Watters has launched the first phase of her investigation into rising home and auto rates in Michigan. Watters issued a letter of inquiry to...

Mich. Commissioner Names New Chief of Staff

Jan 6 2004 // The Michigan bureaucrat who oversees the regulation of insurance named a new chief of staff shortly before Christmas. Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters named Ken Ross as her...

Michigan Issues Data Call to Examine Rate Disparity in Urban Areas

Dec 3 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters said in a statement they will investigate home and auto insurance rates in the state to determine if consumers...

Fiserv Acquires MI-Assistant Software

Nov 5 2003 // Brookfield, Wis.-based insurance software-maker Fiserv Inc. has acquired MI-Assistant Software Inc. — a rating and automation product provider to insurance agents and companies in the Midwest — as part of its plan to...

Mich. Top Court Won’t Hear Benefits Case

Oct 23 2003 // The Michigan Supreme Court refused to review an Appellate Court decision in the case of Sprague v. Farmers that clarifies the cost savings function of the state’s coordination of benefits provision. However, the...

Mich. Gov Drops New WC Appeals Panel Idea

Oct 3 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, dropped a plan to form a new workers’ compensation appeals commission after heated complaints from the state’s business community that the panel would be tilted...

Reorganization Jeopardizes Mich. WC System, Biz Group Says

Sep 24 2003 // The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) urged state lawmakers to reject an executive order reorganizing departments because it jeopardizes the workers’ compensation system. In testimony presented to the House...

Hartford Names Deputy General Counsel

Sep 19 2003 // The Hartford Financial Services Group announced the appointment of Alan J. Kreczko as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. In this new position, Kreczko will supervise the company’s property &...

Mich. Auto Rates Up 7% This Year

Sep 15 2003 // Auto insurance rates in Michigan have increased an average of 7 percent so far in 2003, according to the Insurance Institute of Michigan (IIM). Nationally, auto insurance costs are expected to rise 8.5 percent this...

Associated Food Dealers of Mich. Say Companies Are Balking at Blackout Claims

Sep 15 2003 // Michael Sarafa, president of the Associated Food Dealers of Michigan, is reportedly calling on Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) and the State Legislature to look into practices of...